Derry

Tim, is a 5' tank big enough for a naso?

My beloved blue-jaw trigger went carpet-surfing on me a few weeks ago, and I'm trying to think of a suitable replacement of comparable size (6" to 9") that's not another blue-jaw. My tank is a 140-gal mixed reef, with the dimensions 60Lx20Wx30H. The fish currently in the tank are: 2 chromis 3 lyretail anthias 2 onyx clowns 2 mandarins 1 yellow tang (5") 1 kole tang (5") 1 coral beauty 1 royal gramma 1 starry blenny If I don't get another fish, it wouldn't exactly be the end of the world, but I miss having that one bigger fish cruising around the tank. At the moment, I'm leaning toward a Lamark's angel, but I thought I'd ask the peanut gallery for suggestions to see what new ideas might come up. Remember, it's GOTTA be reef-safe! Thanks! Derry

Cool, 'preciate the update!

GBD had an interesting article/op-ed/rant regarding the exorbitant pricing of some of the corals out there. It makes for an interesting read. Arbitrary coherence and coral prices (Glassbox Design)

Is our group order still on track for a Wed delivery?

Oof... Painful in more ways than one!

Vivid's penchant for listing corals that are "Pre-Order" only and/or fish that aren't really available is starting to wear thin. I requested in-stock notification on the ORA Rose Mille about a month ago. When I didn't hear anything in that time, I thought I'd drop them a line and ask for an update. Here's the response from Zach at Vivid: "We place ORA orders randomly, so I couldn't give you a exact time frame. Maybe in a couple of months. I know that sounds like a long wait, but we just got an order in a few weeks ago and we won't re-up until later." Why on earth list a coral on your site when you know for a fact that it's going to be ?!?MONTHS?!? before it's available to your customers again? If Vivid doesn't tighten up their business practices, I'm not going to be in a big hurry to place more orders with them in the future. Mark, I know you've got friends over there, but they need to hear about the frustrations they're creating with their customers.

Any sign of our goodies yet?

My beloved 6" male blue jaw trigger tried to go amphibious on me about two months ago with negative results.

Sorry, what's "Rhizos" short for?

I'm switching to a calcium reactor, so I no longer need these dispensing jugs. They're from BRS and were used when I was supplementing with their two-part system for maintaining calcium and alkalinity. They're only worth $5 each when new, so throw a small livestock trade offer my way, and let's see what we can work out. I don't need any algae or kenya trees, but I'm open to almost anything else, particularly zoas. GONE

So are we all ordered up now?

Or put me down for a bag of frag plugs, and I'll bring cash with me when I pick everything up. Your call.

Put me down for 2 polyps of Dragon's Breath Favia at $39.99. That should get us over the hump, no?

Give me 15-20 mins to get back to my computer and look around. Derry

You're right, Mike - on the re-read, that was definitely NOT my clearest piece of writing! Looking like replacement's my only option. Thanks for the input!

MIke, you've had too much caffeine again... I'm not talking about the fittings under the stand, which I agree should be either glued or threaded, lest one invite disaster. I'm talking about the return standpipe in my overflow box. Cost has nothing to do with this conversation - I never mentioned it, and I've already got enough spare PVC in the garage to rebuild the standpipe assembly if I have to. I'd rather not drain the overflow box and remove the standpipe along with its connecting bulkhead unless I absolutely have to because draining the overflow box would kill all of the critters currently living in there. My question was whether anyone knew any tricks for getting dry-fit PVC unstuck, under the assumption that it was just dry-fit together and not glued together. Got any suggestions there?

It's a standard corner overflow with a Durso drain pipe and a return that exits from a Loc-Line nozzle. I took the Loc-Line off today, and it's clear. I tried using the channel locks with some vise grips to hold the return pipe still, but no luck there, either. I might not have a choice but to drain the overflow and remove the bulkhead...

Yep, and all that does is make the bulkhead spin.

I think I've got too much calcium buildup in the return pipe from my sump, which is restricting flow and therefore turnover from the tank to the sump. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get the frikkin' 90-degree elbow off of the return pipe, much less get the pipe out of the bulkhead at the bottom of the overflow. I can't see any visible glue residue (which I know only counts for so much), and gluing the overflow pipes together seems to be less than the smartest thing for the tank constructor to do. However, I can't get anything to come loose. I know I can always drain the overflow and unscrew the bulkhead, but my overflow operates as a pseudo-cryptic zone, and I don't want to kill off everything living in there. Anybody got some clever ideas for me?

Cool, sounds like you've got it all planned out!

Will, just a heads up on these guys - I have NEVER had a saltwater fish grow faster than my kole tang. He was about 2-1/2" when I got him almost a year ago, and he's nearly tripled in size in that time. He's already bigger than the yellow tang that I've had for 3 years.

A yellow tang is going to outgrow a 40g breeder in fairly short order, so you might reconsider that one. There are a handful of dwarf angels that would work in a tank that size, with the flame angel and coral beauty generally considered the "most" reef-safe. If you're looking specifically for a reef-safe yellow fish, you might take a look at a midas blenny. Any of the clowns would be good choices, and there are a number of beautiful reef-safe wrasses to choose from (there are also lots of NOT-reef-safe wrasses, so do your homework! ; ). Dottybacks and basslets are colorful and a good size match for your tank. Just be aware that some can be fairly bossy, and some won't co-exist with shrimp very well. Hope that gets you started! Derry

I'm in! PM'ed for WYSIWYG item.

You know you're looking at a big fish when a vlamingi looks "average"...